ExxonMobil will increase its capacity for two key synthetic lubricant base stocks by more than 25 percent through a $200 million plus investment in its Baton Rouge, La., chemical and lubricants plants. The expansion will also include new finished lube blending and packaging facilities. The company said the expansion project will make ExxonMobils Baton Rouge chemical plant the worlds largest producer of synthetic esters and alkylated naphthalene, which are used by producers and marketers of a wi...

While the U.S. Department of Commerce did not renew a prohibition against Delfin Group USA from exporting its motor oil and lubricants, company President John Gordon says it will be some time before Delfin sends its products overseas, especially to the Middle East. I made a commitment that I am NOT interested in doing business with the former presidents partners in the U.A.E., Saudi Arabia or wherever else these products might have gone, Gordon said, placing a very heavy emphasis on the word &#...

Japanese petroleum major JX Nippon Oil and Energy Corp. announced that it will establish a lubricant plant in Vietnam with an intended capacity of 40 million liters of lubricants per year. JX officials released information about their plans to expand their lubricant business in the emerging Southeast Asian country. The timing of the announcement dovetailed with news of a freshly minted company – Idemitsu Lube Vietnam Co. – from JX competitor Idemitsu. Similar to Idemitsus venture...

Shell scheduled a ceremony today to herald the opening of its lubricant blending plant in Torzhok, Russia. The company claims that the 180,000 metric ton facility is the first large-scale foreign-owned lube plant in the country. The opening of the plant has been anticipated for some time. Shell announced the project in mid-2009 and initially said it expected the plant to open by the end of 2010. Delays pushed the date back twice – first to the end of 2011, then to the middle of this year....

Total Lubricants opened a new technical center for Asia Pacific in India, including pilot labs that will develop new lubricants formulated especially for the region. The 600 square meter facility will have state-of-the-art equipment to focus on four main business lines, which are lubricants, bitumens, fuel additives and special fluids, Francis Jan, senior vice president of Total Specialties, said in a statement. Besides developing products for future transmission technology, the facility will a...

Lubrication management firm Trico will add a new oil analysis laboratory at its Pewaukee, Wis., facility that is expected to employ 15 people initially when it is completed this December. According to Trico, the 15 new positions will include technicians, analysts and chemists to run lab equipment, develop oil analysis reports and provide technical expertise customers. Trico anticipates adding up to 27 people as that segment of the business grows in the next three years. The company said it wil...

Europes trade is intermittent, with some days more active than others. The United States remains quiet, while Asia takes a rest during Golden Week. U.S. Gulf of Mexico Tight product availability is another reason being given as to why the shipping market is so slow out of the Gulf of Mexico. Styrene, for example, should theoretically be shipping on the transatlantic route to Europe, but the product remains in tight supply in the Gulf. Other aromatics could conceivably move to Europe, where t...